


Brains are Sexy

by Kellyscams



Series: Kells' Fic Fest [36]
Category: Captain America (Comics), Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Captain America Steve Rogers/Modern Bucky Barnes, Explicit Language, Falling In Love, First Meetings, Fluff, Happy Ending, Implied Sexual Content, Light Angst, M/M, Secret Identity Fail
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-21
Updated: 2019-03-21
Packaged: 2019-11-27 09:16:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18192665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kellyscams/pseuds/Kellyscams
Summary: Bucky Barnes is ridiculously nervous about tonight. He is, after all, presenting his own exhibit at this year's Engineering and Robotics Fair which just might land him a full scholarship at Columbia's Engineering Program. Somehow, he's gotta get through the presentation without passing out.When he catches eyes with a drop-dead gorgeous guy in the crowd -- who smiles and nods and gives him a thumbs up -- Bucky's confidence suddenly doubles. Drop-Dead Gorgeous even stops by to check out his exhibit when Bucky's finished with his presentation. Impressed and lavishing Bucky with compliments, Bucky decides it's a day to be brave and ask him to join him and his friends for drinks.But there's just something oddly familiar about thisRogerfellow. Bucky's sure he knows him from somewhere.





	Brains are Sexy

**Author's Note:**

> prompt: Hi! I am a big fan and I'm so happy you're doing fluffy prompt fics <3 Hope it's not too late give my prompt: smart!Bucky! I just really like Steve being all smugly proud of his nerd BF (if we're going canon; post-WS if possible); or getting hearteyes over the cute SI engineer (Shrunkyclunks is my jam if you're going AU). If you can toss in some Bucky&Tony friendship, that'd be super awesome, too! Anyway, hope this prompt inspires you. And even if it doesn't, I'm still excited to see your fics!

“Oh, I think I’m gonna be sick.” 

“Well, if you’re gonna blow chunks,” Tony replies, “do it out the window.” 

Rhodey punches him in the arm for that remark even though it’s actually made Bucky smile a little. 

“C’mon, Tone,” Rhodey scolds. “Our boy here is about to get up in front of a thousand people for the presentation of a lifetime and that’s your sympathy level?” 

“Hey, c’mon,” Tony says. “Do we really wanna be riding around in the back of a limo with a big pile of puke?” 

Both Bucky and Rhodey make faces and groan in disgust at the mental image that Tony’s comment has conjured. Disgusted or not, it does provide at least a moment or two of relief from Bucky’s anxiety. Until, of course, it comes charging back like it needs to make up for the little bit of time it missed. 

He leans forward and takes the bottle of water handed to him by one of his friends, he’s not sure which. Honestly, Bucky never expected to be here. On his way to the Javits Center for this year’s Engineering and Robotics Fair to actually be presenting his own exhibit for a shot at a full scholarship at Columbia’s Engineering Program. 

At twenty-four, Bucky’s been out of the army for almost three years now and spent a lot of that time wallowing in self-pity. Maybe self-pity isn’t quite the best way to describe it. Waking up covered in sweat from night terrors almost every night and thinking a bag of microwave popcorn cooking is incoming fire are probably good reasons for him to be angry with life for a while. 

Reconnecting with his love and knack for engineering helped him a lot. Therapists encouraged him. When Bucky found this program, he dove head first into it. He’s worked his butt off to get himself ready for today. Bucky’s prepared. Everything’s been finished. Not without the help from the program’s director, Dr. Cho, or some of his classmates like Shuri and Peter and Ned. No doubt they’ll be doing this next when they graduate high school. They’ll be at the convention center, too. 

While still leaned forward, Bucky reaches into his back pocket for his note cards so he can go through them again. He knows he can’t have them when he’s presenting, but right now they feel like a comforting blanket. All the words Bucky’s practiced over and over and over. In front of his friends. In front of the mirror. In front of no one at all. 

It’s his hope to make a breakthrough in medical science. Bucky takes a quick glimpse at his left arm, hoping neither Tony nor Rhodey notice. They’re both preoccupied with something on Tony’s phone at the moment, probably giving Bucky the space he needs to get in a better headspace, so they don’t see. Which is good. It means they don’t see Bucky taking that quick look at his prosthetic.

He’s had two of them since he lost his arm overseas when a car bomb went off in front of a school. Bucky and his team tried to get civilians to safety, but another IED went off. This one pinned Bucky down until rescue units got there. All he could do was watch. 

After Bucky’s initial therapy and rehabilitation, he was fitted for a passive prosthetic. That one was designed to look like his natural arm and was pretty close to his natural skin color. It was lightweight and while it did not have active movement, it did improve Bucky’s function for stabilizing and carrying objects. 

A year later, he switched for an electrically powered arm and it’s been the one he’s had for the last four years. This one includes motors and batteries that provide power to the prosthetic. The electric components of these electrically powered prosthetics vary based on the level of limb loss. There can be sensors or various inputs that detect movement of muscles in the residual limb or upper body. These sensors or inputs then signal the motors in the limb to make the desired movements. 

The problem is, there are glitches. It’ll lose power when Bucky’s out somewhere. Places are pretty well-equipped to handle recharging devices, but not too many places have spots to recharge electric limbs. Sometimes it’ll freeze up on him. While there are activity specific prosthetics that can be used for sports like swimming, his can’t get wet. Soaked in water anyway. A little rain isn’t going to hurt it. 

What Bucky has to show for all his hard work is something that he thinks might change all of that. If anything, he hopes his work and ideas and designs will at least get his foot back in Columbia’s door.

“We’re here,” Tony announces while Bucky’s still going through his index cards. “The Science Fair for Giant Nerds awaits.” 

“Tony, for god’s sakes.” Rhodey literally covers Tony’s mouth with his hand. “Don’t worry, Bucky, you’re gonna do great.” 

Since Tony’s still got a hand covering his mouth, he gives Bucky a thumbs up, most likely -- or hopefully, at least -- trying to convey the same message. 

While Bucky’s heart beats with warmth and excitement, it must not be delivering the message to his brain since the rest of his body has turned against him. His stomach flips. If he tries to get out of the limo now he’s certain he’ll fall flat on his face since his legs have turned to jelly. That can’t be his tongue in his mouth. It’s about three sizes too big which is unfortunate given the speech he’s meant to give in about an hour. 

“Aw, c’mon, metal man,” Tony says. Muffled since it’s still behind Rhodey’s hand. Since he sounds more sincere now, Rhodey peels his hand away. “You got this.” Tony reaches over and gives Bucky’s cheek a pinch the way he’s been doing ever since they met. “Just go out there and do the best you can.”

Taking in a deep breath, Bucky shakes out his arm and legs and cracks his neck. He wiggles his nose and even works out his jaw a bit. 

“Okay,” he whispers. “I’m ready.” 

“Aw, you see that, Tony?” Rhodey says. “You can be so sweet when you try.”

He pinches Tony’s face between his hand and gives him a quick kiss. 

“Yeah, but don’t tell anyone.” 

Though Bucky’s nerves are far from settled, watching these two and having them here to support him and knowing he’s got more friends inside waiting for him, it does make things a little easier. His exhibit is already set up for him -- it’s supposed to be anyway -- and his project there. If everything goes according to plan, all Bucky has to do is deliver his speech and impress the right people. 

When they start walking through the center, though, Bucky’s anxiety springs to life again. Palms sweaty and glands swollen, he tries not paying attention to the other exhibits around him. Robots. Traffic control systems. Bioreactors. 

“Don’t worry about everyone else. We’re gonna kill ‘em.” 

The voice comes from up ahead, sassy and full of unmistakable confidence. Bucky smirks when he sees Shuri coming toward them, holding her hand up for a high-five. 

“Shuri,” he greets. 

“Hello, broken white boy,” she replies. “Not gonna pass out us, are you?”

Bucky nods. “I’m thinking about it.” 

“Well, you can’t,” she says. “We worked too hard on this for you to do that.”

Chuckling, Bucky gestures to Tony and Rhodey standing hand-in-hand behind him. They smile at the sudden attention. 

“Shuri, this is Tony and Rhodey,” he introduces. “Guys, this is Shuri. One of my lab partners. Probably the smartest person in the world.” 

“Hey.” Tony crosses his arm. “I’ve got a little something to say about that.”

Eyes rolling, Bucky snorts. Tony’s another brilliant friend of his, having graduated from MIT at seventeen. He even crank called the Pentagon when he was fourteen on a dare. In fact, most of Bucky’s friends are pretty brilliant. 

“And what is that?” 

“When do I get to steal her?” Tony asks. “So we can work together?”

“Later,” Rhodey says. “We’re here for Bucky tonight, remember?” 

“Oh, right.” Tony rolls his head in quite a dramatic fashion. Makes Shuri laugh. “Woe is me.” 

Since Shuri got here first, she already knows where the booth is so they follow her to where Bucky needs to be. There’s already so much going on. A few people are already giving their presentations. Bucky’s not sure if he’s sympathetic or jealous. Maybe both. 

His area’s smack in the middle. When they’re almost there, Bucky stops dead in his tracks. He can’t go any farther. At first, no one notices. Tony’s already chewing Shuri’s ear off and Rhodey -- who also went to MIT and is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force -- probably has no trouble keeping up with the conversation. 

After a few seconds, though, Tony notices they’re down one man and stops to look around for him. Once he spots him, he tells the others to wait. Only Tony jogs back over to where Bucky’s stopped. 

“Hey,” he says. “Everything okay?” 

Bucky, whose eyes are focused on the nonsensical patterns of the carpet, lifts his eyes and shrugs. 

“I don’t know,” he murmurs. “My stomach hurts.” 

“Come on, Barnes.” Tony leans in and pecks his cheek. “I remember this guy I used to know. He was this cocky kid who knew how to charm the ladies and danced all night and was a sarcastic sonuvabitch.”

“Sounds like a great guy.”

Tony chuckles and pokes Bucky in the chest. “He’s still in here somewhere. It’s okay to let him come out and play.”

The side of Bucky’s mouth curves up in something of a nervous smile. He shifts his weight from foot to foot and nods. 

“Right. Okay. Okay, I… right.” 

A laugh rolls out Tony’s throat as he tosses an arm around Bucky’s shoulders and then steers him toward the other two. 

By the time they reach the booth for Bucky, a little stage just like everyone else, both Peter and Ned are there, too. After quick introductions -- Bucky’s not surprised by the fact that Peter and Ned find themselves starstruck by Tony, they talk about him all the time and until now probably weren’t totally convinced that Bucky was _actually_ friends with him and Rhodey -- Bucky tries to go into his own private bubble. Although he’s very much interested in what others have created, he knows he’s just going to compare his to theirs and no matter what he’ll put himself down. 

When Bucky hears Dr. Cho approach and call his number, his heart leaps up to his throat. Once again, his stomach flips, this time turning to ash. He’s been in war torn countries before and he doesn’t think he’s ever been this nervous. Then, he didn’t have the _time_ to be nervous. Then, he just acted on instinct. Move or die. Fight, flight, or freeze. This is so different. 

“Here we have entry one oh seven,” Dr. Cho says to the three people with her. “This is one of our entries for Engineering for Humanity. Healthy Humanity, in fact, if I’m not mistaken this’ll be our first on our tour throughout the expo.” 

Oh, great. _Just toss a little more pressure on top of me, Dr. Cho, thanks._ Although, to be fair, Bucky’s pretty sure he wasn’t meant to hear that part. It does catch three judges attention, though. Reed Richard -- the mathematician and physicist -- Sue Storm -- the astrophysicist -- and Bruce Banner -- well-known for his work in biochemistry. They all look up from whatever notes they were taking to see what it is that Bucky’s prepared for them. 

Bucky takes one last frantic look at Tony and Rhodey. They both, at the same time, signal for him to breathe by taking in deep breaths themselves and letting it out at almost the same time again. Taking the cue, Bucky does it as well and then climbs up on stage where Shuri, Peter, and Ned are already waiting for him. They each give him a thumbs up. He tries to smile but his lips won’t exactly cooperate. Bucky walks up to the microphone stand and does what he’s seen in tons of movies. He taps on the top of the microphone to make sure it’s working and all that does it make a horrible, high-pitched screech that has everyone covering their ears. 

“Sorry!” Bucky says. “I’m so-sorry. I didn’t mean…” 

Off to the side, Bucky catches a glimpse of some guy standing still all bundled up in a jacket. A light jacket, really, so that has to be all muscle underneath, and _hot damn_ that’s a lot of muscle. He’s wearing an old, worn Captain America cap over his head that covers all his hair and hides his eyes until he lifts his head so that his gaze meets Bucky’s. He’s just close enough that Bucky can see those twinkling blue eyes. The prettiest blue eyes he’s probably ever seen. And when he smiles -- at Bucky, Bucky’s sure of it -- his insides melt a little. 

“Sorry,” Bucky repeats, softly this time. “My names is Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes.” He pauses again because he realizes there really isn’t a need to say his middle name. He shakes his head. “And first, I want to thank my friends up here, Shuri, Peter, and Ned. Without them, this project wouldn’t’ve made it this far. I won’t take full credit for something that’s not completely mine.” 

In front of him, the judges’ eyebrows rise and they mark things off on their clipboards. Bucky’s suddenly filled with an intense hatred for all clipboards. Over on the side, that guy folds his arms and takes a step closer as though his interest in what Bucky has to say has increased. 

Bucky goes on to explain how he joined the military right after high school. That he did two tours overseas. Though he’s sure all of them can obviously see his left arm is not his biological arm, he still lifts it for them all to get a better look when he gives them the story of how he lost it. Bucky’s sure to explain that he’s not telling this story for any sympathy. 

“I don’t need your pity,” he says. “I’m not looking for brownie points or anything like that. The only reasons I’m telling you this is because I have firsthand experience of losing a limb and going through the process of having a prosthetic fit to your body and having to relearn motor skills and having to learn exactly how to use that specific model.” 

With him, is the first model -- the passive prosthetic -- which Peter and Ned bring forward. He explains just how it works. The pros and the cons. What it was like -- for him -- using it. Then he holds up his left arm and goes through the same process. 

He’s not sure how he’s doing. Inside, Bucky’s completely sure he’s already made a mess of everything. He keeps licking his lips and his eyes keep dropping and no matter how often someone advised him not to say “um” or “uh” he’s pretty sure one of those two words come out of his mouth at least three times every sentence. 

“So, what I have to show you today,” he says after he finishes talking about his current prosthetic, “is something that’s never been used before.”

On the table behind him is a case that Peter and Ned go over to start opening. While they do that, Shuri comes to Bucky and helps remove his shirt and his left arm. Not a difficult process if you know what you’re doing and they’ve practiced this a lot. 

“You’re doing great,” she whispers. “Keep it up.” 

Bucky smiles at the compliment. He needed it. This is the first time he’s ever stood up in front of so many people -- and as he spoke about his experience as a soldier and his physical therapy afterward a whole bunch more have gathered around to watch -- with his left side exposed like this before. 

He trembles. While Bucky’s certain no one here is going to start making fun of the veteran who fought for the country and lost his arm doing so, all sorts of horrible scenarios weasel their way into his mind. These tiny bugs of insecurities that crawl around in the one spot Bucky just can’t reach to squash them. Not physically anyway.

Since he doesn’t have time to psych himself up or give himself a pep talk or do any exercises any of his therapists have recommended, Bucky’s eyes scan the crowd for Tony or Rhodey. But he can’t find him. The only recognizable face he catches is that guy from earlier. And Bucky doesn’t even _know_ him.

Still, as though the guy senses Bucky’s sudden need for support, he grins softly and gives him a thumbs up. Like maybe he’s saying he thinks he’s doing a good job or something. This gives Bucky all the encouragement he needs, just some stranger in the crowd enjoying his presentation, and he’s okay to continue. 

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Bucky says. “What we’ve done here is designed a new prosthetic that’s lighter, more functional, more resilient, and _doesn’t_ need recharging of any kind because the body itself runs it.” 

Peter and Ned take the arm out of the case. Flat, silver metal pieces overlapping each other. Flexible. It’s light, but sturdy. Meant to fit Bucky’s body and Bucky’s body alone. Any other prosthetic made like this would also be made to fit the wearer. 

It does take a bit of time getting it on. After all, they are connecting the thing to his actual body, but once they do, Bucky stands there, facing his audience completely still for a second. If anything goes wrong, he’s completely blown it. After those few seconds though, he can feel the arm powering up and lifts his hand, shoulder length, wiggling his fingers in a wave. 

Bucky goes on explaining how different it’s been experimenting with this arm versus the long term use of his others. He demonstrates the strength of it. The durability. How easy it is to grip things, from a soda can to a pencil. He even dunks his arm in a tank of water. Bucky gets the crown involved by tossing a ball to someone and when they throw it back, he easily catches it with his left hand. While some of these things he could have also done with his other prosthetics, this one functions more life-like than any of them. 

“Whether or not I’m accepted into the program,” Bucky says when he’s finishing up. “This will be the arm that I will be wearing. The one that we built. The one that’s given me the most freedom since I lost mine. I only hope to give that freedom to others some day. And, um, thank you very much for your time.”

Bowing a little, Bucky gets a polite round of applause from the audience -- two people whistling and hooting, and he can just guess who they are -- while Shuri, Peter, and Ned are clearly trying to hold their excitement back. To be honest, Bucky just wants to get off this stage as quickly as possible. He’s not sure why, but for some reason he’s more nauseous now than he was before.

“Damn, kid!” Tony is tossing his arms around him just as his feet touch the floor. “That was incredible! Lemme look at this thing! Can I look? Can I see it?”

“Tony,” Rhodey says. “Would you give him some space to breathe?”

“Bucky!” Shuri is next to be hugging him, only she’s wrapped her arms around his waist. “You did so good! They _have_ to let you in!”

Peter comes over next and holds his hand out for a fist bump. They have their own little thing, too, that Peter insisted on having. 

“It really was,” he says. “So awesome. You gotta put in a good word for us next year so we can get in, too.” 

“Yeah!” Ned says. “We can have our own secret lair!”

Before Bucky can respond to any of them -- and poor Tony is simply drooling for his chance to get a good look at his arm -- someone taps him on the shoulder. Much to Bucky’s surprise, it’s the person from the audience. Up close, he’s even more beautiful. So much so, Bucky almost staggers to the side. He does, in fact, need to catch a breath. 

Bucky was right in thinking he was muscular. That t-shirt he’s wearing under his jacket looking ready to tear off of him. He’s a good four inches taller than Bucky so being this close to him means Bucky needs to look up at him to see that pretty face. Those sparkling baby blue eyes. That jawline. Those thick lips. All those thick lashes. Being this close does another thing, too. He looks familiar. So super familiar that Bucky even thinks he should say his name before remembering he doesn’t actually know it. 

“Hi,” Beautiful Mysterious Stranger says. “I just wanted to say you did a really great job.”

A smile pulls up on Bucky’s mouth. He rolls his lips in and scratches the back of his neck. Bucky even shifts his weight.

“Thank you,” he replies. “You really think?”

“Yeah,” BMS says. “It was amazing. You put so much of yourself into your work. It was beautiful. May I?”

He holds his hands out, asking permission and consent to see the arm for himself. Bucky, probably to Tony’s dismay, lifts it so he can touch and see. The guy, even with his big and, probably strong hands, is careful and gentle. 

“Does it pinch at all?” he asks. “Between the plates?”

“That was a problem in the beginning,” Bucky answers, still caught by the familiar look of this guy’s face. “But we’ve minimized that down to barely anything by making the plates lift only when the arm needs to recalibrate.” 

“What about people who might want something that doesn’t stand out as much?”

Bucky stretches his lips. “That’s something we’re still trying to figure out. The plates need air otherwise it’ll overheat so the coverings they have now are no good. Shuri’s working on some things, though, that might do the trick. As for me, I mean, I like it this way.”

“You know,” BMS tells him, “I think it says a lot about you that you made sure to give credit to your team. Not everyone would’ve done that, especially if it may’ve hurt their chances. Those kids are going places, too. You guys are gonna change the world.”

“Thank you,” Bucky whispers, truly at a loss of words. “I’ll… I’ll tell them you said so.”

He turns Bucky’s arm one last time before gently setting it back by Bucky’s side again and smiling at him as though this has been one of his favorite moments. Bucky doesn’t want to jump to any conclusions, but there looks to be wonder and awe in his eyes.

“This is truly incredible,” he says. “They’d be crazy not to take you.” 

A blush burns Bucky’s face all the way up to the tips of his ears. He’s not sure why this person’s praises are making him melt so much. Maybe it’s because he just got through with one of the most important presentations of his life. Or maybe it’s because they’re coming from the hottest person he’s ever seen in his life who’s looking at him with, what he thinks are, heart eyes. All impressed by what Bucky’s done. 

So, what the hell. He might as well go for it. 

“I’m Bucky, by the way.” He holds his hand out. “I know I said James, but everyone calls me Bucky.”

The guy smiles and takes his hand to shake. “Hello, Bucky. I’m St…” He pauses and swallows and starts again. “I’m Roger. It’s nice to meet you.”

“You too, Roger. Um…” Bucky squints as though that’ll make Roger clearer. “Have we met? You look _so_ familiar.”

“No.” Roger answers that so abruptly it’s almost like he’s insulted by the very idea. “No, we haven’t met.”

“Oh. I just… I’m sorry, you just really look like--”

“No, it’s okay, I just…” Roger pulls his hat down lower even though it can’t get much lower than it already is. “I kinda get that a lot.” 

“You’re not a fugitive, are you?” Bucky jokes even though he didn’t even get a chance to say who he _thought_ Roger looks like. He can’t imagine anyone actually being insulted by the idea. “Hiding from the law?”

Roger chuckles. “Not that I know of.” 

They both snicker and then a single moment of silence passes between them. Strange, though, the short lull doesn’t feel awkward. It feels more like a moment of suspense. Of the night readying to build up to something else. 

“Hey, so, since some of my buddies over there are still in high school…” Bucky points over his shoulder. “We’re gonna go to the diner after we finish packing up here. But then from there, me and my other two friends are gonna head over to a bar and maybe you’d wanna join us?”

For just one second, Bucky’s sure he’s going to say yes. Roger smiles at the invite. He even starts to open his mouth to answer. But then he closes it and frowns, his eyebrows pulling together and, uh-oh. That can’t be a good thing. 

“I really shouldn’t,” he says quietly, almost like he doesn’t want Bucky to hear him. 

“Um. Yeah, okay.” Now Bucky feels like a total idiot. He starts backing away to hide in the middle of his friends. “Thanks for all the nice things you said, though, that was super cool of--”

“No, no, wait!” Roger gently places a hand over Bucky’s shoulder to stop him. “Don’t go, I…” He sighs and shakes his head. “It’s not that I don’t want to go.”

Bucky waits for him to say something else and when he doesn’t, he holds his palms out. Still waiting. 

“Okay?”

“It’s not you, Bucky,” he says. “It’s me.” Roger grunts at that. “Okay, that probably just sounds even worse. It’s just…” He pinches the spot between his eyes. “it’s really complicated and I’m with some friends who--”

“Who what? What’re you blaming us for now?”

Roger gasps and jerks his head up. Following his gaze, Bucky sees who said that. A pale red-head who appears almost out of thin air. Behind her, is a really cute black guy with a smile that makes Bucky's heart skip a beat.

“Um… I…” Roger scratches the back of his head. “Bucky here was just inviting me to the bar.”

“And we’re turning Bucky down?” the guy asks. “Why?”

Both Roger’s friends stare him down while Roger’s entire face burns red. Bucky almost feels bad for the guy who just rejected him. 

“It’s okay, really,” Bucky says for him, hoping to get him off the hook. “Roger said it was complicated.” 

Only instead of making things better, Bucky seems to’ve only made things worse. Roger hangs his head while the lady’s smile grows larger. Shifts into something different, too. Almost arrogant while still being amused. Her eyebrows even shoot up.

“Oh, is that was he said?” she asks. Bucky’s not sure who she’s asking. Him or Roger. “Why on _earth_ is it complicated, Roger?” 

“Nat,” Roger grumbles. “Please.” 

Now she swings her attention away from Roger and onto Bucky. Those big, green eyes of hers light up as they roam over his body. Accessing. Taking something in that Bucky probably isn’t even aware of. Then she smiles like she’s made up her mind about something. 

“I’m Natalie,” she says, holding her hand out for Bucky. “ _Roger’s_ friend.” 

Off to the side, Roger hangs his head and pinches between his eyes. Bucky can’t tell if it’s because Natalie’s officially introduced herself or the way she’s done it. 

“Um, hi.” Bucky shakes her hand. “I’m--”

“Bucky, yes.” She nods. “I got it.” Natalie jerks her thumb behind her. “This is Wilson.” 

"Hi." He steps forward and shrugs, also offering a hand to shake. A pair of warm, brown eyes soften as he greets Bucky. “Guess that’s me.” 

Apparently, there must be some sort of code to be friends with Roger. The three of them have got to be some of the most good looking people Bucky's ever seen in his life. As if Bucky really has an actual shot at this. Natalie isn't all that tall, but she's made of lean, hard muscle. Wilson is a maybe an inch taller than Bucky and broad around the shoulders. Not like Roger, but much bigger than Bucky. 

“Guys--” Roger tries to say, but it’s quickly intercepted by Natalie again. 

“So what bar and when?” Natalie asks. “We’ll make sure he’s there.” 

Which is not exactly the way Bucky hoped this would happen. He definitely doesn’t want Roger _forced_ to be there. 

“Don’t worry,” Roger murmurs. A mind reader, then. “I told you, it _isn’t_ you. I’m just…”

“Shy,” Wilson says for him and flashes a million dollar if slightly gap-toothed smile. “Roger’s a shy guy.”

As if agreeing with this, Roger shrugs a shoulder and offers an impish grin. 

“It’s true,” he says. “Sometimes I don’t see what’s good for me even when he’s asking me to meet him for drinks.” 

It takes Bucky a second to realize he’s literally talking about him. When it hits him, Bucky smothers a giggle into his palms. 

“Oh, wow,” Bucky laughs. “That was really bad.” 

There’s a grin on Roger’s face. “So bad you wanna rescind your invitation?” 

“Absolutely not.” Bucky returns the smile. “As long as you _really_ do wanna come.” 

“I do!” Roger clears his throat after that pretty unnecessary, but cute exclamation. “I mean. I do. Want to come, I mean. I’m sorry, it’s been a really long time since I’ve dated.” His eyes go wide. “Not to say that this is actually a date. Not if you don’t--”

“Roger.” Bucky smiles, very not used to be the more confident one, but happy to ride the high of tonight’s bravery. “I asked you to come with us. So. If you really want to…” 

“Okay. Yes. Yes, I do. Just, tell me when and where and I’ll be there.” 

He takes off his Cap hat to brush his fingers once through that dark, golden hair of his before placing it right back on his head again. When he does this, Bucky is once again completely, one-hundred percent sure he knows he’s seen him somewhere before. Now that he’s met his two friends, he’s even _more_ sure, too. 

“Um, unless,” Roger says when Bucky doesn’t say anything, “you don’t want me to come. I’m sorry if I…”

“Oh, no no! It’s not…” Bucky chuckles. “Sorry. Here.” He pulls a pen out of his pocket and takes hold of Roger’s hand so he can write where they’ll be and his number on his palm. “That’s the name of the bar. “Say, like, nine-ish? You can text me if you’re gonna be late or if we’re not there or something or… y’know whatever.”

“Is it okay if I text you my number?” 

Bucky grins. Okay, that’s a good sign. “Sure.” 

“Okay. And, I was serious about what I said before. About them being crazy if they don’t take you. This was just… mind-blowing.” 

“Thank you, Roger.”

They just stand there for a few seconds. Smiling. And it’s nice. Just smiling. Until Roger clearing his throat -- still smiling -- and starts to back away. 

“Okay, I’m gonna…” He’s still smiling and chuckles like he’s nervous. “I’m gonna go. Before I make an even bigger fool out of myself.”

Bucky laughs. “Not a fool. I liked it. I’ll see you later?”

“Yes.” Roger nods. “Yes, later. Definitely.” 

He turns then, on his heels as though he needs to force himself to move away. Natalie and Wilson are waiting for him just a few feet away. When he reaches then, it looks like everything stops being funny. For him anyway. Whatever’s amusing to them picks up doubletime. Roger, as they’re all walking away together -- and Natalie is sure to turn around and wiggle her fingers in a wave at Bucky as they leave -- hangs his head again. His two friends pat him on the back. 

“I cannot believe you just did that to me.” 

Heart skipping a beat, Bucky grabs his chest and spins around to see Tony standing there with his arms pinned across his chest and tapping his toes at him. 

“Did what to you?”

“You let some _stranger_ have access to you before your best buddy in the whole wide world?” Tony pretends to cry. “I thought we had a bond stronger than that. I thought it was unbreakable. I thought--”

“Jesus, Tony,” Rhodey, who comes up from behind him and rattles him by the shoulders, says. “Give it a rest. Bucky was just living up to his patriotic duty.” 

“Yeah.” Bucky nods even though he had no idea what the hell Rhodey is talking about. “My patriotic duty. My what?”

As they’re joined by Peter, Ned, and Shuri, Shuri laughs. “You _do_ know who you were just talking to, right?”

“Um… he…”

Roger hadn’t given him the chance to ask it, but Bucky had been about to say how awfully familiar he looked. He didn’t think it was possible because what the fuck would _he_ be doing here anyway? But… but.

“You guys can’t be serious.”

“Dude,” Ned says. “Pretty sure that guy was Captain America.”

“He… he _did_ look like him, didn’t he?!” Bucky exclaims. “But… he said his name was _Roger_.”

“That’s not a very good made up name,” Peter says. “He should’ve used like… Philip or something.” Everyone just stares at him. “What? Who would think of Captain America being named _Philip_?” 

Everyone continues to stare at him until his cheeks burn red and he looks down at his feet. Bucky chuckles. 

“Anyway,” Rhodey says. “If he is him, maybe he just… panicked? Not everyone is like Tony.”

“Hey!” Tony says. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Center of attention, star of the show, egomaniac?”

“...Okay, good point.” Tony turns back to Bucky. “Well, what did he want?” 

“To tell me how awesome he thought the project was,” Bucky says. “He also said that you guys were going places.” 

Peter, Ned, and Shuri all point to each other like they’ve misunderstood what Bucky’s told him. Or why Captain America would have anything to say about them at all. 

“Really?” Peter asks. “He said that?”

“Mhm. Said you guys were gonna change the world.” 

“Well,” Shuri says, “White man who knows what he’s talking about.” 

“Hey, was he, like, a really cool old guy?” Ned asks. “Or an old grandpa?”

“Cool, I think?” Bucky replies. “I asked him to come to the bar later. He said yes.” 

It’s quiet for about a half a second before everyone is shouting different things at him at the exact same time. Most of it is impossible to decipher, but Bucky gets the gist of it and as it sinks in, another wave of nausea rolls over him. 

Bucky Barnes might have a date with Steve Rogers. Captain America. This was so much easier when he just had a date with Roger. The guy who was shy and awkward. 

Holy shit. 

***

About ninety minutes or so later, Bucky finds himself in the back booth of the Skylight diner trying to make heads or tails of what happened back there. He can’t call what his emotions on this whole thing being hurt. After all, he doesn’t _know_ Steve Rogers. The only information he has on the man comes from textbooks and museums and interviews and trading cards--of which he’s embarrassed now to admit he’s got a full collection. 

“Oh my _god_ ,” he mumbles to the burger that he hasn’t touched. “What the hell am I gonna do?” 

“You are not canceling,” Shuri says. “That is for damn sure.” 

“He’s not canceling,” Tony assures her. “Even if we have to drag him there.” 

“Yeah besides.” Ned stuffs some fries into his mouth. “We need to do more research on Captain America. I wanna know more about ‘im.” 

“I wanna know why he picked _Roger_ ,” Peter says. “Obviously he got it cause of his last name, but was he really gonna say his name is Roger Stevens? He knows your super brilliant. You’d put it together.” 

The only one who doesn’t seem to find this possible Steve Rogers’ masquerade to be unusual is Rhodey. In fact, if anything, he almost seems to find it reasonable. 

“I mean, look at it this way,” he says, “you’re this national icon, everyone sees you in a certain way and you always have to _act_ that certain way and if you step out of bounds the world penalizes you for it. That’s gotta be a hell of a lotta pressure to live up to. I think I’d wanna live someone else’s life every now and then, too, wouldn’t you?” 

“If I think of it _that_ way, it’s almost flattering,” Bucky replies. “Like, maybe he wanted _me_ to be in that secret life of his. Even if it’s just for those few hours.” 

“Aw.” Shuri brings her folded hands to her chest. “That is actually quite romantic.” 

“Mr. Stark?” Peter says. “What do you think?”

Tony, who’s been uncharacteristically quiet throughout all of this, lifts his eyebrows and gives Bucky a crooked smirk. 

“I wonder how long it’d take for Bucky to get him to admit the truth.” 

Rhodey points to Tony. “That’s a good point, too.” 

“What?!” Bucky laughs. “But you _just_ said--”

“I say a lot of things.” 

“Let’s think about it,” Shuri says, pulling out a piece of scrap paper from her bag. “Anyone think Bucky can stretch this to an all-nighter?” 

“Oh, come on!” 

But no matter what Bucky says or does, they’re all very interested in how long it’ll be before Bucky can figure out if Roger is really just Roger or until “Roger” admits that he’s really Captain America or if Steve Rogers plans on parting ways tonight with the lie intact. They factor in both Bucky’s normal anxiety with Captain Rogers’ known honesty. To be honest, Bucky can’t really say he’s not curious either. 

“You should eat something,” Ned says as he snags a fry from Bucky since his are now finished. “Don’t wanna face Cap on an empty stomach.” 

Bucky makes it through half the burger before he just can’t stomach any more of it. And a handful of fries at his friends’ insistence. He doesn’t eat enough when he’s nervous, is what they tell him. Probably why he didn’t eat anything at all today until he hopped into the car with Rhodey and Tony, and they had granola bars for him. 

By the time they’re leaving the dinner Bucky actually has a text from Roger-- or Steve, whatever -- telling him he’s on his way but running a little late. 

“Oooh, good sign,” Shuri says. “He wants you to know he’s coming.”

“That’s good, right?”

Shuri rolls her eyes as she buttons up her jacket. “Of course it is.” Her eyes flick to Tony and Rhodey. “You two won’t let him back out of this, will you?” 

That’s an obvious hell no as Tony snatches the phone from his hands so he can answer for him. Not that Bucky hadn’t planned on answering. But Tony wouldn’t give him any chances to bail. Which is how Bucky ends up a nervous wreck a half an hour later, sitting at the end of the bar checking his phone every few seconds. Bouncing his knee. Scrubbing a hand over his face. Running fingers through his hair enough that he eventually just pulls it back into a sloppy bun only to tug the band out within a few minutes to do it again. 

“Would you stop twitching?” Tony teases when he orders himself another scotch. “You’re acting like you’ve never been out before.” 

“I know, I know.” Bucky sighs and takes a sip of his beer. “It’s just… it’s been… a while.” 

“What’re you talking about? We were out two weeks ago.” 

A blush fills Bucky’s cheeks. He does his best to hide this by taking a much bigger gulp of his drink but ends up spilling some all over his shirt. 

“Uh, Tony,” Rhodey says on his behalf, “I… don’t think _that’s_ the ‘a while’ he’s talking about.” 

For an absolute genius, it can take slapping Tony on the face for him to pick up the obvious things sometimes. Right now, he just stares from Bucky to Rhodey over and over again a few times before landing on Bucky one last time flinging his hands up in the air. His mouth drops open and, at first, Bucky’s sure he’s going to scream this for the entire bar to hear. Luckily, he manages to keep it down. 

“ _No_!” he exclaims. “No way! Really? _Really_?” 

Groaning, Bucky drops his head down on the bar and wishes it would just swallow him whole. Nothing can save him for what’s to follow. 

“How long?” Tony asks. Nudges him in the side. “Seriously, Barnes, how long? C’mon, spill!” 

“I dunno,” Bucky mumbles, which is a total lie.

“Liar!” Tony shouts. Duh. “You’re counting the days. No way you’re not. How did I miss this? What kinda bro am I?”

“The worst,” Rhodey says. “I can’t believe you didn’t notice.” 

Bucky scoffs and turns his head so that he’s just able to make out their faces. “Do you often wondering about my sex life, Rhodes?” 

“Your sex life isn’t all that much of a priority to me.” Rhodey shrugs. “But I’m not naive. It is to you. And I know you’re not having any sex and you haven’t had it in a while and _that’s_ what matters to me.” 

“Now, _me_ on the other hand,” Tony says. “I’m much more interested in how long it’s been since you got laid. C’mon, tell me. Tell me. Tell me, Barnes. Tell me! Tell--”

“Thirteen months!” Bucky bursts. “It’s been thirteen months, okay?” He makes a pained, whining noise in the back of his throat once he says it aloud. “Ugh, I feel like should be on display at the Smithsonian, too. _I’m_ the one on ice this time.” 

The absurd joke earns him a round of laughter and sympathetic pats on the back. Another beer courtesy of his buddies. 

“You’re not the first person to go through a dry spell,” Rhodey says. “Just because this one” -- He jerks his head toward Tony -- “can’t go thirteen hours without jumping my bones--”

“What!?”

“--doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of other people who’re going through the same patch you are.” 

“Yeah.” Bucky nods his head. “It’s just…”

He trails off, throat going dry and burning those next few words to ash. Bucky’s never told anyone about that last hook-up of his. His last boyfriend, Brock, a relationship that ended as quickly as it started, hadn’t been their favorite anyway. No one had expressed any displeasure when he’d announced their break-up. Bucky kept the rest to himself. When he was honest with himself, which, on most days, he wasn’t, what happened with Brock hurt him a lot more than he let on. 

Bucky takes another swig of beer, swishes that bit around in his mouth a bit, and then slips off the stool. 

“Hey, hey!” Tony scolds. “Where do you think you’re goin’?” 

“The can, Tony,” Bucky scoffs. “I’ll be right back.” 

Of course, the trip there sees Bucky checking his phone the whole way. Nothing from Roger. Or Steve. Bucky wonders what the hell he’s gonna do if they’re wrong about this whole thing. This could just be a remarkable coincidence, and Roger could just _look_ amazingly like Captain America. Cause, really, _what_ would Steve Rogers even be doing there in the first place? Furthermore, why would he even care about Bucky’s exhibit? 

This guy hung out with Howard Stark back in the day. He saw his flying car prototype. He was an Avenger. He fought alien races with proton guns and that kickass, amazingly aerodynamic Shield made from Vibranium. Out of all his friends, only Shuri had ever been exposed to Vibranium, being from Wakanda and all, and that’s where it came from. 

Quite honestly, if Roger turned out to be _just_ Roger, it’d make a lot of sense. _Steve_ Rogers has no reason to be interested in Bucky’s little science experiment. 

After quick use of the bathroom, Bucky washes his hand, checks his phone again and still finds nothing, and really begins to wonder if he’s being stood up. Wouldn’t be the first time. People backing out of the date with the disabled vet. 

Bucky pauses by the door. That sounds suspiciously like Brock speaking inside his head instead of his voice. Seems thirteen months still isn’t enough to rid him of that toxic bastard. Sucking in a deep breath, Bucky reminds himself that Roger _did_ text him early to tell him that he was running late, and then shoves the door open. 

When he rounds the corner, though, Bucky slams right into someone. Right into a wall of hard muscle and smooth skin and a startled smile. 

“Oh, shit, I’m sorry,” Bucky says. “I didn’t see… I…” He releases a heavy breath through a smile of his own. “You came.” 

“Uh-huh.” Roger, who’s still wearing that Captain America cap, but has a different set of clothes, grins and then shifts his weight. “I’m sorry I’m so late. I couldn’t decide what to wear.”

His final decision, apparently, was a pair of form-fitting jeans and plain white tee; tight enough it looks like it’s trying to burst off of him. Somehow, standing next to him, Bucky feels wildly underdressed. 

“That’s… that’s okay,” Bucky assures him. “You look great, Roger.” 

A brilliant smile flashes across his face as though Bucky’s compliment is the first he’s ever received in his entire life. Bucky can hardly imagine why. He can’t be the first to compliment him. This guy is drop dead gorgeous. And if he really _is_ Captain America, he’s gotta be used to receiving compliments.

“No.” He shakes his head, grin still on his mouth. “I mean, thank you. You do, too. Can I buy you a drink, Bucky?”

“Oh, yes.” Bucky nods. “Thank you.” 

Back by the bar Bucky’s friends have been joined by Roger’s. They’ve already gotten themselves drinks and look awfully comfortable for a group of people who’ve only met only moments ago. 

“Lies!” Bucky exclaims when he and Roger step up to the bar with them. “Whatever they’re telling you, they’re all lies!”

Behind him, Roger snickers. “I’m gonna assume the same.” 

“You total narcissist,” Natalie replies. “It just so happens we weren’t _talking_ about _either_ of you.”

“Yeah!” Tony sticks out his tongue. “So there.” 

“Fine, fine,” Bucky grumbles. “We’re just gonna…”

“We nothin’,” Roger interrupts. “ _I_ was about to buy you a drink.” He gestures to the empty bottles. “You want another one of those?” 

Roger flags down a bartender, who immediately gives him her undivided attention. Jealousy rushes through Bucky’s veins when Roger smiles back at her, and uh-oh. What the hell is _that_ about? They’re just here for drinks together. They’re not dating or anything. Yet, the idea of the woman flirting with him left a foul taste right at the tip of Bucky’s tongue. 

“So, um,” Roger, drinks in hand, says when he turns back around. “Do you wanna sit over there?” 

He gestures at the end corner of the bar. Still near their friends but a spot that offers them a bit of privacy. Nodding, Bucky follows him over there and each of them help themselves to a stool. 

“So,” Bucky says, “Roger, what do you do?”

“Oh.” Roger hurries to take a drink and ends up drinking almost the whole thing in one chug. “Um. Well, I was in the Army. And now… uh, Homeland Security. Sorta.”

Bucky chuckles. “Is this the part where you say _I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you_.” 

“I wouldn’t kill you,” he says with a smile. “That’s not really my style. Besides, I wouldn’t want to short the world a genius like you.” 

As soon as he says it, Roger is covering his face like he can’t believe he’s gone and said it out loud. Bucky, cheeks blushing, chuckles. 

“I would hardly say genius.” His fingers roam over the plates of his left wrist. “There’re lots of smarter people than me.” 

“Are you fuckin’ kidding?” He shakes his head. “You were aces out there today. Brilliant.” Roger waves the bartender back over and gets himself another beer. Bucky’s barely even touched his. “ _You_ are gonna change the world.” 

Hands over his face, Bucky couldn’t pry the smile off his mouth no matter how hard he tried. 

“I thought you said you weren’t gonna try to kill me.” 

“What?” 

“You said you wouldn’t kill me.” Bucky peeks over the tips of his fingers. “But I’m pretty sure you’re trying to right now.” 

Roger laughs with his whole body. Eyes crinkled and creases at the sides of his lips. Everything about him is completely adorable.

“I promise you,” he says, “I’m not trying to kill you. I might try to kiss you later.” A smirk curls up on his mouth. “I’ve never made out with a genius before. If that’s okay with you.” 

Smile tucked under his smile, Bucky ducks his head down as another blush fills his cheeks. This guy can’t even be real. 

“Oh my god,” Bucky chuckles into his palms. “Well, keep going. So far I’m liking what I hear.” 

Roger chuckles. “Will you tell me a little about yourself? Where’d you grow up?”

“Sir, you are looking at a certified Army Brat. I lived on three different continents before I even graduated high school, but I was born right here in New York. Brooklyn. When I was little, I swore I would never join the armed forces.” 

“Can I asked what changed?”

Bucky smiles softly, drumming fingers across the top of the bar. He lifts his eyes and meets Roger’s patient gaze. He shakes his head. 

“Another time?” he says. “If that’s all right with you.”

“Of course it is. I’m… honored you think there’ll be another time.” 

Eyes glistening, Bucky shrugs. “Well, so far so good. How about you? Where are you from?”

“Brooklyn. Born and raised.” He raises his bottle to that and Bucky clinks the top of his against it. “Best fuckin’ place in the world.” Roger takes a sip. “Okay, okay. Tell me something really weird about yourself. Something only a few people know. I don’t mean personal or anything like that, just something silly.” 

“Oh, now we’re getting somewhere.” Bucky sits up straight and scratches his chin as he thinks on this one. “Okay, I got one. I’m afraid of birds. All kinds of birds. Even, you know that Avenger, the Falcon?” 

Roger holds back a smile. Not at him, Bucky doesn’t think, but he’s holding back a laugh when he nods. 

“Uh, yeah. Yeah, I know ‘im.”

“Well, even him. Not, like, the _guy_ , of course. Just when he’s in his bird costume.” A chill washes over him. Bucky shivers. “I hate it when there are pigeons everywhere. Gross.” 

That smile finally comes out now and Roger puts a hand over Bucky’s. He says, “Don’t worry. I’ll chase away all the birds for you.”

Not moving his hand away, because it feels warm and safe right where it is under Roger’s, Bucky smiles back. 

“What about you?” Bucky asks. “What’s your weird thing?” 

“I can’t sleep on nights it’s snowing.”

“You like to watch the snow? That’s not so weird.”

Roger shakes his head. “No. The snow gives me nightmares.” 

The hand over his trembles slightly so Bucky’s thumb rubs soft circles into Roger’s skin. Roger seems to appreciate the sentiment.

They go on like that for a while. Asking each other questions and having a good time together in their own private corner. Through their conversations, Bucky learns that Roger loves potatoes and apple cake. His favorite book is _The Time Machine_. He loves to draw in his spare time. His favorite Disney Princess is Snow White because that was the first Disney movie he saw in the movie theaters. He’s never ridden on the Cyclone. Says he’s always been afraid it would make him throw up. 

Bucky tells Roger how he loves chicken marsala and strawberries. His favorite books are _To Kill a Mockingbird_ and _Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire_. He loves to bake and dance in his spare time. Not necessarily at the same time. His favorite Disney Princess is Belle because she loves to read just like he does. He _has_ ridden on the Cyclone and insists he’ll be dragging Roger onto it. 

At some point, they’re joined by the rest of their friends, and nothing really changes. In fact, if anything, all that does is drive the two of them closer together. Somehow, their seats end up nearly right on top of each other. Neither of them seems to mind all that much. 

When Roger forgets to be nervous and shy and awkward, he’s a barrel of laughs. He swears like a sailor and makes obscene gestures and drops dirty jokes like it’s nobody’s business. He literally never misses a shot to make a joke about sex and it has Bucky really reassessing the whole _Captain America_ thing. 

“Seriously,” he mumbles to Tony and Rhodey when Roger excuses himself to the bathroom. “He can’t be him.” 

“He’s gotta be!” Rhodey insists. “I’ve met him before! That’s _him_!”

“What do you mean, you’ve _met_ him?” Tony asks. “When’ve you met him?”

“Same as you. You know. White House stuff.”

Tony rolls his eyes. That’s not exactly meeting Captain America. That’s more a meet and greet. Bucky knows that Captain America has tried to reach out to Tony a few times since he and Howard were friends but -- given the shaky father/son relationship they had -- Tony hasn’t exactly been receptive. 

None of this does anything for Bucky and figuring out whether or not this is really Captain America. 

“No.” He shakes his head. “No way. This guy has used to the word _come_ like, _three times_. In the most filthy way possible!” Bucky scoffs a laugh. “I can’t even imagine Captain America using the word orgasm let alone _come_.” 

They think on that for a moment. Tony, more than once, goes to say something but just ends up snapping his mouth closed. 

“Well,” he finally says, “Dad did say that he thought fondue was code for sex once.”

Bucky snorts. “Not even close to the same thing.” 

“I don’t know,” Rhodey says. “I’m beginning to side with Bucky on this. Maybe _Roger_ really is just Roger.”

A pair of hands touch Bucky’s shoulders then. Massage gently. Bucky turns to see a pair of big, blue eyes watching him. Bright. Vivacious. Happy to see him. 

“Did I miss anything?” Roger asks. “This looks intense.” His chews on his lip. “Am I interrupting?” 

“Oh, no,” Bucky answers. “We were just--”

“We were just saying” Tony interrupts, “how you look like someone.” 

Hands slipping away from Bucky’s shoulders, Roger sucks in a deep breath and nods as he weaves his way back up to the bar, waving his finger for another drink. He takes a big gulp of it before responding. 

“So, you, uh, you noticed that, huh?” he says, eyes on the bar. “I guess that shouldn’t be too surprising.” 

He’s gone very still as he turns the bottle of beer over in his hands. He even lowers his head, Adam’s Apple bobbing a bit with his next heavy swallow. It makes Bucky share a glance with Tony and Rhodey. 

“What’s going on over here?” That would be Natalie coming back over with Roger’s other friend, Wilson. She claps a hand over Roger’s shoulder. “Why’re we so serious?” 

“Um.” Nervous again, Roger scratches the back of his head. “They, uh…” He clears his throat. “They wanna know why I look like… someone.” 

“Oh!” She laughs. “Got caught, did ya?” 

Wilson laughs right along with her. “Knew you couldn’t pull it off. You’re like the man’s doppelganger.”

Bucky shakes his head. “Wait, I’m confused.”

“Roger told you he worked for our Homeland security, right?” Natalie asks. “Well, he does. For SHIELD. As a certain someone’s body double.” 

“One guess as to whose,” Wilson says. “Bet you already guessed.” 

“Wow!” Tony exclaims. “So, when Cap is in one place, but SHIELD doesn’t want evildoers to know…”

“That’s where _this_ man comes,” Wilson replies. “Let’s the paparazzi follow him around a bit. That’s how we all know we each other.” 

Rhodey eyes them suspiciously for a second while Tony points between Natalie and Wilson. He claps a little and hops. Tony Stark, despite his attempts at making his personality wrapped in clad iron, can be the most adorable guy Bucky knows. 

“You guys do it too?” he asks. “You’re body doubles?” 

They nod. Tony, still reveling in that excitement, wiggles his butt in a little dance as he goes on to ask them questions. 

“Black Widow, right?” he asks Natalie. “I mean, of course. You’re not gonna squash my head between your thigh, are you?”

She tosses a handful of nuts into her mouth and smirks, giving him only a one-shoulder shrug for an answer. Tony whines just slightly before turning to Wilson. 

“That makes you Falcon, I guess. Birdman in the flesh. Has he ever let you fly around with the bird wings?” 

Unable to help it, no matter how ridiculous it might be, Bucky takes an involuntary step backward to get away from the conversation about the Falcon. Because falcons are birds. Which is totally absurd. _Falcons_ might be birds but _the Falcon_ is a goddamn superhero. Captain America’s best friend. He’s saved the world on more than one occasion. Yet Bucky still takes that step back like a big giant bird is about to swoop in and carry him off to feed him to a bunch of giant baby birds. 

He happens to back right into someone. Bucky looks behind him and sees Roger’s big smile. He steps a little closer to sorts of put an arm around him. It’s not an invasion of Bucky’s personal space. In fact, Roger even leaves enough room for Bucky to slip away should he want to. But he doesn’t. What he wants is for that arm to secure him closer to Roger’s body, so Bucky takes it upon himself to lean back against him and brings his arm around his chest. 

Roger chuckles and murmurs right into his ears, “Don’t worry. I’ll keep you safe from the birds.” 

Bucky grins. Squeezes the arm around his chest and rests his head back before peering up at him again. 

“I could… return the favor,” he says. “If you’d like. Maybe I can stay up with you on a snowy night?”

Eyes flicking down, Roger stares at him for quite a while before his mouth curves up in what Bucky can only describe as an honored smile. 

“You’d… you’d do that?” he asks. “For me?” 

Leaving Roger’s arm right where it is, Bucky shimmies around so that he’s facing him now. He cups his hands around Roger’s face. 

“I kinda think you might be worth it.” 

Something sad ripples across Roger’s face. His gaze drops to his feet with a shake of his head. For a second, Bucky thinks he might start to cry. 

“No,” he whispers, mostly to himself, but Bucky just catches it. “I’m not.” 

Not understanding why in the world Roger could ever think that about himself -- after all, in the short time spent with him, he’s been nothing but fun and sweet and caring -- Bucky slips fingers under Roger’s chin and coaxes his gaze back up. 

“You wanna get out of here?” he asks. “My place isn’t far. We can talk. If you want.”

A smile lifts the left corner of Roger’s mouth. “Yeah. I’d like that.” 

Bucky tries to pay his tab only to have Roger shoo him off while he digs into his back pocket for his own wallet and settles both their tabs on his own card. Once they’re both ready, they say their goodbyes to their friends and Bucky takes Roger by the hand to lead him out of the bar and back to his place. 

***

“So, like, have you _met_ the guy?” Bucky asks has he brews a pot of coffee. “Captain America, I mean.” 

Roger’s sitting at his kitchen table. With his shoes off. Because Roger is completely adorable and didn’t want to be impolite. 

“Uh, I mean.” He scratches the back of his head. A nervous tick, Bucky guesses. He’s done that a few times tonight. “Yeah. Sort of.” 

“What’s he like?” And then, to borrow from Ned, asks, “Is he, like, a cool old guy or an old grandpa?” 

“He’s…” Roger hesitates. “Selfish. And a liar. Not what you’d think. Definitely not worth someone like you.” 

“Really?” Bucky turns around with two full mugs. There’s already milk and sugar on the table. “Captain America?” 

“Mm.” Roger, without adding anything to his coffee, takes a sip. “He’s an asshole. Really, he’s just… not a good guy. This is good.”

The coffee, Bucky assumes. And obviously code for wanting to change the subject, so Bucky just rolls with that. Clearly, Roger doesn’t have a very high opinion on Captain America. He wonders if something happened between the two of them. That sounded very personal. 

“Thanks.” Bucky smiles as he takes the first sip of his own coffee, loaded with sugar and a drop of milk. “Um, listen, Roger, there’s something I think I should tell you.” 

“Okay?”

“I dunno what you think is going to happen here tonight,” Bucky says. “To be honest, I don’t even know what _I_ think is gonna happen. I, uh, I know what I _want_ to happen.” The second those words escape his mouth, Bucky blushes everywhere. “Um, but, the thing is, I think you should know that it’s been… a while.” 

“Oh.” Roger chuckles. Not at him, at least, Bucky doesn’t think it’s at him. “Believe me, I’ve been there.”

“Recently?” 

This time, Roger blushes. Right up to the tips of his ears. “Well, no. I guess if we’re being honest about this, I, uh… um… have sex… a lot. Randomly. It’s just… I _didn’t_ have sex for a _really_ long time and then I started to and now I…” Roger buries his face into the palms of his hands. “Holy fuck you didn’t wanna hear that.”

Actually, though, it just makes Bucky burst out laughing. He’s not really sure why. Maybe it’s Roger’s reaction to his rambling about all the sex he has. Or maybe the fact that he literally just rambled about the fact that he has sex all the time. Whatever it is, Bucky is cracking up and Roger is blushing again. Deeper this time. 

“Told you,” he mumbles. “I’m not worth your time.” 

“Why?” Bucky asks. “Because you have a lot of sex?”

Roger makes a noise in the back of his throat and shakes his head. It takes him a few tries to finally say something. 

“It’s not just that,” he admits. “I… you don’t get it. When I saw you up there today, Bucky, I was blown away. You’re just so… _brilliant_. I thought Stark was… I mean… y’know, he _is_ but you… you’re gonna change people’s lives in ways that…” He sighs and hangs his head. “I have no business being here with you. You’re too good for me.” 

Not sure what to do with that, Bucky can only sit there and hold back tears. No one has ever said anything like that to him before. The last person he was with told him he was broken. Sunlight runs through him. Stitching the wounds that have been gnawing at him for months with warmth and kindness and praise. 

“My ex told me I was broken,” Bucky blurts. “My arm needed to recharge so we couldn’t, y’know, fool around the way he wanted to. We _could_ have done stuff, but not how he wanted. So he said I was broken and that his cell phone was better than me.”

“I--”

“Technically he broke up with me,” Bucky says. “But only because he did it before I could.” Bucky drops his gaze and drums fingers atop the table. “I never told anyone that.”

Bucky’s not sure when he moved, but Roger is kneeling in front of him and has taken hold of both his hands. 

“Gimme the guy’s name,” he says. “And I’ll make sure he’s taken care of. _No one_ has the right to speak to you that way, Bucky.”

“Taken care of?” Bucky almost laughs. “Do you mean you’ll have Captain America kill him for me?”

A devilish smirk curls up on Roger’s mouth. “I was thinking more along the lines of the Black Widow. More her style.” Roger kisses Bucky’s knuckles. Over and over. All of them. His lips even start to make their way up to his wrists. “I won’t let anyone hurt you, Bucky. I promise.” 

Bucky honestly doesn’t remember moving, but the next thing he knows he’s throwing himself at Roger, and Roger, happy to oblige, catches his tongue with his mouth. Bucky groans into the kiss. Roger is an amazing kisser. Firm. Possessive, even. Still gentle somehow. 

Roger’s fingers find their way into the soft hair behind Bucky’s neck and draw him in impossibly closer. Bucky eases his way onto Roger’s lap, wrapping his legs around his waist. Their kisses become hurried and rushed. Fevered. Their breathing labored. Bucky needs to feel every inch of him. Needs Roger’s hands to touch all over. 

Reaching under him, Bucky tugs Roger’s shirt off and begins sucking at the side of his neck. That’s before he realizes what he just missed. He lifts away and takes a better look at what that damn shirt’s been hiding all night. 

“Holy _shit_ ,” Bucky breathes. “You’re fucking _ripped_.” 

“Uh…” Roger gives an uneasy chuckle. “Thanks?” 

“It’s a compliment,” Bucky says as he leans back in, wanting to put hickies literally all over this fucking body. “You won’t get in trouble, right?”

“Trouble? Why would I get in trouble?” 

“Y’know for, like, getting marked up when you’re supposed to be Captain America’s body double or something.” 

Roger sighs. “No. I don’t wanna talk about Captain America.” 

“Mhm.” Bucky dives in for another kiss. “Fine by me.” 

They don’t have to talk about shit. It’s been thirteen months since Bucky’s last hook up, but he’s pretty sure that deep, meaningful conversations aren’t something that have suddenly started happening in the middle of potential one-night-stands. Instead, he rocks his hips along with Roger’s. Feels the friction shoot up his spine and groans. 

“Fuck,” Roger pants. “Holy shit, Bucky. You feel so good.” 

Bucky, rushing to tear his own shirt off, keeps sucking at the side of Roger’s neck. He grinds some more against him only this time, as Roger’s hands roam down the sides of his neck and onto his shoulders, he thrusts back up into Bucky’s groin. 

“Oh, fuck.” Bucky trembles. “Roger…” 

Hands just reaching below his shoulders, Roger freezes. His eyes pop open and he yanks away from him. 

“What?” Bucky asks, startled and surprised by the abrupt movements. “What happened? What’s wrong?” 

“I… I can’t do this,” Roger whispers. “I’m so sorry, Bucky. I… I have to go.” 

Of course. 

Of course he can’t. 

Of course this was all too good to be true. 

Because there’s just no way in hell that any of this could be real. Why would someone that looks like this think the world of Bucky? No one is going to think those things about him. Roger probably just said them to get himself back here. Just look. The very second he touched Bucky’s metal arm, he couldn’t stand the thought of sleeping with him anymore. 

Tears burning in his eyes, Bucky jerks away and scrambles to his feet. He fumbles around for his shirt and actually finds Roger’s first. He tosses it at his face. 

“Get out,” he mumbles. “Get the fuck out.” 

“Wait. Wait, please.” He’s scrambling to get to his feet. Trips a few times in his haste. “Lemme explain. _Please_ , Bucky, let me explain. I just… I can’t do this to you, I--” 

“Yeah, fine, lemme guess?” Bucky finally finds his shirt. He’s fuming so hard it’s impossible to get his shirt back on. “Did your friends bet you how long it would take for you to fuck the disabled guy?” 

“No!” Roger shrieks. “No no no! Oh, _god_ no! Bucky, please, I’m begging you just--”

“Get out!”

Bucky grabs him by the wrist and drags him toward the door. Funny though. He’s not really dragging him. Roger’s moving but that’s only because he’s coming along with him. Bucky’s fairly sure that if he planted his feet he wouldn’t be able to get him to move an inch. 

When they reach the door, Bucky lets go and yanks it open. He points out to the hallway, but Roger just stands there. Bucky glances up at him and, damn it to hell, if he’s not giving him the most pathetic look he’s ever seen in his entire life. Eyes big and weepy. Actual tears. Lip trembling. He literally looks like a lost puppy ready to start whimpering at him. 

This is so fucking stupid. Bucky _should_ be kicking him out. He shouldn’t want anything to do with him ever the fuck again. But instead, he keeps looking into that god damn weepy face and shuts the door. 

“Fine,” he grunts. “What? What could you _possibly_ have to say that’ll make this better?” 

Roger swallows, roughly. He opens his mouth. Doesn’t say a word. The night trembles around them. Air thick and stale, Bucky trembles and just waits for whatever it is he wants to tell him. When Bucky scoffs and reaches for the doorknob again, Roger drops his head. 

“I’m selfish,” he whispers. “And a liar. I’m not what you think. And… and I’m not worth any of your time.” 

Shaking his head, Bucky thinks back for a second. He’s sure he’s heard that somewhere before. That exact thing, too. In fact, that’s extremely familiar. 

“Wait…” He rolls his eyes. “That’s what you said about Captain America.” 

He’s still staring down at his feet, but Roger winces as though Bucky’s slapped him. When he lifts his gaze, his eyes are all watery. Tears cling to those dark, thick lashes. And it all clicks. 

He’d been right earlier. 

Roger isn’t just some guy named Roger that SHIELD hired to be Captain America’s stand-in. His name is Steve. As in _Steve Rogers_. This guy really _is_ Captain America. 

“Holy shit,” Bucky says. “Oh, you’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.”

Captain America sucks in a jagged breath like he’s trying to keep from bursting into tear right on the spot. 

“I’m sorry,” he whispers. “I couldn’t do it. Not to you. I just…” 

“What is this?” Bucky asks. “Some sort of game you play? You go around pretending to be someone else?”

“No, I… it’s not a… a game, I just…” Captain America wipes at his eyes. “It’s a cover story. The whole Roger thing and being Cap’s body double. It’s… it’s the only way… I can’t just… usually be myself.” He groans and passes a hand over his face. “I was having a hard time adjusting when I first… and I couldn’t even talk to… Natasha took me to this island resort. We tried this whole _Roger_ identity out and it… well, it worked. So when I got back, I did it again. And again. Cause it was the only thing that worked for me. I couldn’t _be_ Steve Rogers.” 

Jaw tight and eyes hard, Bucky crosses his arms. “Why? Why couldn’t you just be Steve Rogers?” 

Captain America looks exhausted. He looks exhausted and sad and Bucky suddenly remembers that even though he was born the same as his grandmother was, technically, Bucky’s actually a year _older_ than him. This is a guy who’s fought in wars. Who sacrificed himself so that everyone else could live. A man who’s lost everything and everyone he ever loved. He’s battled aliens and monsters and staved off government conspiracies. Captain America has so many scars that he keeps hidden from the world, but here, in Bucky’s dingy, one bedroom Brooklyn apartment it almost feels as though he’s baring his soul. At least a part of it. 

“Because,” he murmurs, his voice breaking at the end of the word. “Because no one ever sees me. No one sees Steve Rogers. They just see Captain America.” 

Bucky holds his breath. He, himself, is already guilty of that. He hasn’t been sitting here having an argument with Captain America. He’s been arguing with Steve Rogers. 

“I…”

“But when you called me Roger then,” Steve Rogers goes on to say, “it just… it was all wrong. I can’t be Roger to you. I don’t want to be the lie, Bucky, I like you _so_ so much. But I don’t want you to look at me and see just Captain America. I don’t even know if you’d be willing to give me another…” 

“You lied to me,” Bucky says. “All night long.”

Steve Rogers cringes like he’s ashamed of that and nods. Whispers, “I’m sorry.” 

“I don’t know what to do here.” He sighs and opens the door again. “Please, just go.” 

Shoulders falling, Steve Rogers’ face, somehow, falls even more. He looks completely dejected. Heartbroken. Still, he nods again, tucking his lip under his teeth to keep it from quivering. 

“Okay,” he whispers. “I’m… I’m so sorry, Bucky. I didn’t mean to… I hope… I’m sorry.” 

All Bucky does is nod. He’s having a lot of trouble wrapping his mind around this whole damn night. First being sure _Roger_ was Captain America. Then being told by “Roger” himself that nope, no way, not Captain America, just a look-a-like. Oh, but, surprise! Let’s go back to number one because it turns out that “Roger” really has been Captain America this whole time. 

Steve Rogers. 

Sure, the guy might’ve lied about his name and, well, blatantly about who he is, but, as Bucky stands there leaning against his door, he kinda gets it. The poor guy’s bone tired. He doesn’t know how to be him. But wanted to be. With Bucky.

And Bucky’s just thrown him out. 

“Oh, shit,” Bucky mumbles, turning around and flying out the door. “Steve!” he shouts as he chases after him. “Steve, wait!” 

At first, Bucky worries he might’ve missed him completely. If that’s the case, he wonders if maybe he could get access to the Avengers’ Compound. Maybe through Tony. Hell, Steve Rogers’ has tried to talk to him. Worse comes to worse… 

But luck happens to be on his side and Steve is just out in front of the building. There’re still tears in his eyes. He wipes at his face and even pauses to scrub his palms over it. Just before Bucky pushes the door open, Steve zips up his hoodie and hides his face under the hood. 

“Steve!” Bucky yells when he swings the door open. “Steve, wait!” 

The second his name reaches him, Steve stops. He turns to face Bucky and holds his palms out as though trying to convey sheer innocence. 

“I- I’m sorry,” he says. “I’m going, I swear.” 

“No, no.” Bucky jogs over to him. “Come back upstairs with me. I shouldn’t… I shouldn’t’ve been so quick to judge. I was just… I dunno, I think I was just… shocked.” He steps up close and gently brushes his knuckles across Steve’s cheek. It’s damp with tear tracks. “Come back up with me. Please?” 

“Are… are you sure?”

Slipping all ten fingers together, Bucky stands up on his toes and pecks a soft kiss right on Steve’s lips. 

“More than sure.” Bucky takes a secure grip on his hand and tows him back up the front steps. “Come on, Steve Rogers.” 

Steve’s hand tightens a bit around Bucky’s just before he stops right on the other side of the door. As soon as he does, it cause Bucky to almost fall back. He glances over his shoulder. Steve is no longer moving with him but he is smiling. 

“Do you…” Bucky shakes his head to gather his thoughts. “Do you not wanna come?”

“Can you just… say it again?” 

“You want me to ask you to come back upstairs again?”

“Mm-mm,” he whispers. “My name. Please, say my name again.” 

“Oh,” Bucky chuckles. “Steve. Steve Rogers.” He smiles. “I’ll say it all night long if you want. Scream in, even. If you make me.”

A blush sneaks across Steve’s cheeks. He leans in and ghosts his nose along the side of his neck. 

“If you really want,” he murmurs. “I think we could arrange that.” 

***

Yes. Yes, Steve Rogers most definitely arranges that. Over and over and over again. Because it turns out Steve Rogers is a sex-crazed maniac. Any place, anytime, anywhere. 

And it turns out what turns him on the most is, well, _watching_ Bucky work. Which isn’t very productive for Bucky since Steve will literally sit there, backward on a wheelie chair watching him with hearteyes until he starts whining. 

“Steve,” Bucky’ll mumble, trying _desperately_ not to laugh, “I gotta get this done. If you’re not gonna behave, go sit in the corner.” 

“But… but you’re so _sexy_! How can I help myself!” 

Bucky, not one to refuse a compliment. Well, he’s learning not to, since they’re coming from Steve and coming from Steve they sound so genuine and beautiful and perfect that they’re hard not to believe. When Steve tells him he’s beautiful, Bucky sees someone lovely staring back out at him through the mirror. When Steve tells him he’s brave, finds the same courage he thought he lost on the battlefields. When Steve tells him he’s brilliant, Bucky thinks he really might be able to change the world one day. 

Sometimes, when Steve gets particularly impatient and starts bouncing in his seat, Bucky can’t help himself. His adorable, sex-crazed boyfriend will pout and whine, and Bucky just caves. 

Which isn’t really a bad thing. Because sex with Steve is sinfully amazing. He knows how to get Bucky screaming at the top of his lungs. Panting. Trembling. Whether he’s folding Bucky in half and pounding into him or has Bucky riding him. Whether he’s got that glorious mouth wrapped around Bucky’s cock or he’s using that tongue to eat him out. Everything Steve does is magnificent. 

“Hey, baby,” Steve says. “I got you something.” 

Currently, Bucky’s sprawled across Steve’s bed on his belly. Naked. There’re a ton of books in front of him. Notebooks and textbooks. He’s nibbling on the end of a pencil. 

“Oh yeah?” He scribbles down something in one of his notebooks. “What’s that?” 

Steve sits at the side of the bed and rubs a hand across Bucky’s ass. Sends a shiver up his spine. Bucky grins. Then feels something soft replaces Steve’s hand on his skin. Bucky looks now and sees the rose that Steve has. Steve brings it up to his nose and smiles behind it. 

“Is that for me?” Bucky asks. “You bought me a rose?” 

“Mhm.” He trails it over Bucky’s face. “But not just one. C’mere.” 

Bucky follows Steve out to his living room where he gasps at what he sees. The place is covered in red roses. 

“One hundred and twenty-nine,” Steve says. “One for every day we’ve been together. I might not be a super genius like you but, I can throw a few numbers together.” 

“Steve,” Bucky whispers. “You… you didn’t have to do this. This is…”

“I’m afraid, Bucky,” Steve tells him. “I’m so afraid that you’re going to… to wake up one day and _really_ realize who you’re with. That I’m… that you’re going to be disappointed.”

Turning around, Bucky places his hands at the base of Steve’s neck. He hardly understands Steve’s worry, but he definitely understands worry. How horrible it is when those claws dig deep and refuse to let go. 

“I know who you are,” he replies. “You’re Steve Rogers. Loyal and trustworthy and hardworking. Too dumb to back down from a fight. You’re exactly who I want to be with.”

Tears glisten in Steve’s eyes. “ _Why_? Why would someone like _you_ , smart and brave and beautiful, want to be with Captain America?” 

“I don’t,” Bucky answers. “I don’t want to be with Captain America. I want to be with Steve Rogers.” 

A smile breaks across Steve’s face, brightening it like the first streak of dawn after a long, grueling storm. He dives in to kiss him. With all the passion and desire that anyone could ever have for another person. All because Bucky got picked up at a science fair. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to check me out on tumblr for more fun at [thebestpersonherelovesbucky](http://thebestpersonherelovesbucky.tumblr.com/) or pillowfort at [thebestpersonherelovesbucky](https://www.pillowfort.io/thebestpersonherelovesbucky%22) or twitter [thebestpersonherelovesbucky](https://twitter.com/thebestpersonh1)


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